Reassessing the county executive

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We also like his plan to consolidate county police precincts. We simply don’t need eight separate precinct headquarters. Police officers do most of their work in their cars. The precinct buildings are mainly used for holding prisoners and picking up traffic reports.

But Mangano broke a county promise when he redirected the proceeds of the red-light cameras, which were supposed to be earmarked for youth service agencies. He yanked the money away from dozens of agencies, leaving many of those organizations floundering. The money has been repurposed to cover other county expenses it was never meant for.

We also still question Mangano’s plan to sell the county’s sewer system to a private operator — or whatever the details of the plan are this week. He has been unable to offer any proof that this will actually be a good thing for residents. And while it will be a one-shot benefit to the county’s coffers, we’re not sure it won’t wind up costing residents more in the long run.